Ron Tugnutt was probably the most likeable goaltender the Ottawa Senators have ever had.
Ron Tugnutt played some great games in his career.
The fans loved him. The media loved him. And opposing teams must have hated playing against him.
Although he had memorable games with other teams (most notably, a 70-save performance in the regular season against the Boston Bruins when he was a member of the Quebec Nordiques), it wasn’t until Tugnutt signed with the Senators that he became a force in nets on a regular basis.
In 1998-99 season, when Tugnutt was the team’s number one starter (the only full year he was so), all he did was make the all-star team, have the league’s best GAA average of 1.79, be second in the league in save percentage (.925), and set career highs in wins and shutouts.
By the way, that GAA is one of the lowest in the modern era for a goalie.
For his career, he’s tied with Patrick Lalime for best GAA (minimum 50 games) and is second in wins and shutouts.
He was dynamite in the 1997 playoffs, posting a 1.97 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Unfortunately, the Sens lost to the Sabes in overtime of game seven when a shot by Derek Plante broke Tugnutt’s glove for the series-winning goal.
Tugnutt never played more than 43 games in a season for the Sens, but he made sure every one of them counted.
